Smallpox Eradication: The Vindication of Jenner’s Prophesy

Abstract

In 1802, Jenner [1] published a short pamphlet in which he made the statement: “…it now becomes too manifest to admit of controversy, that the annihilation of the Small Pox, the most dreadful scourge of the human species, must be the final result of this practice.” Jenner was correct, but it took another 176 years to achieve this result.

Arita I. The control of vaccine quality in the smallpox eradication programme. In: International Sympossium on Smallpox Vaccine, Bilthover, the Netherlands, 11-13 October 1972; Symposia Series in Immunobiological Standardization. 1973; 19:79–87Google Scholar